Medical care
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The objective of this work was to identify similarities and differences in primary attending physicians' (generalists' versus oncologists') care practices and outcomes for seriously ill hospitalized patients with malignancy. ⋯ Generalists and oncologists showed similar care practices and outcomes for comparable hospitalized late-stage cancer patients. Physicians' perceptions about patients' preferences for CPR and prognosis influenced decision making and outcomes for patients in both physician groups. Length of relationship with patients was associated only with oncologists' care practices. Rescue care increased hospital costs but had no effect on patient survival. Future studies should compare physicians' palliative care as well as acute-care practices in both inpatient and ambulatory care settings. Patients' end-of-life quality and interchange between physician groups should also be documented and compared.
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Our goal was to link patients from the Iowa Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Registry to their respective inpatient discharge abstracts from an Iowa Health Care Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)-formatted database and evaluate whether this linkage provides information related to cancer treatment variation. ⋯ This linkage provides a valuable source of comorbidity and insurance data and perhaps the only source of secondary clinical information for the uninsured. This linkage is best suited for cancers requiring inpatient stays for treatment and for those states where border crossing for treatment is low.
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Hospitalized hip fracture patients may receive physical therapy (PT) in acute and/or postacute settings. Patterns of PT use may vary by patient, clinical, and hospital characteristics. These patterns can be analyzed if the acute and postacute stays are linked. ⋯ Disparities in PT use exist for subgroups of patients such as the elderly and blacks. Providers should determine the most appropriate setting for initiation of PT to achieve better discharge outcomes with efficient use of resources.